Dublin, 1st October 2009
According to the August call variance report released by 11850, Ireland’s original independent
directory enquiry service, the recession may have come as a blessing in disguise for all tummies and
torsos. As there is less money in people’s pockets for indulgences, with requests for Fast Food
and Takeaways down -71.71%, Irish citizens are taking the opportunity to further improve their health,
with requests for dieticians increasing by 194.12% and Slimming and Weight Management requests increasing
by 600% on the figures from August 2008!

Susan Branchflower, Chief Executive, 11850, commented, “It is plain to see from this report that
Irish citizens are learning to adapt to the current climate. Although the population may be finding it
difficult to cope with tightening their belts, they are doing their best not to let the recession keep
them down, and even turning it into an opportunity to do something positive for themselves.”

Ms Branchflower continued, “This is also evident from another money saving trend that has emerged
from the report. It appears to be becoming popular to cut out our vices in order to save some pennies,
as requests for Drug Addiction Services (+25%) and Gambling Addiction Advice (+29.55%) have increased,
while requests for Casinos (-43.01%) and Betting Shops (-72.09%) have decreased on the figures from
last year.”

It seems staying in is the new going out in recessionary times, as requests for Catering Equipment
have increased by 3.16% and Home Brewing Supplies by a massive 342.86%, while requests for Restaurants
(-64.03%), Pubs (-50.50%), Nightclubs (-52.21%) and Taxis (-54.11%) have all decreased.

Aside from staying in, penny-wise citizens are finding even more ways to save money. Rather than
throwing out old clothes and shoes, people have been requesting numbers for Clothing Repair and
Alteration Services (+37.77%) and instead of shopping for new outfits we are going DIY, with requests
for fabric stores up 10%. Savings were also made on school supplies in the run up to back-to-school,
as second-hand book stores saw an increase of 5.26% on the corresponding period last year. Many still
are holding on to the old dream of striking it rich, with requests for the Lottery up 11.11%.

-ENDS-

Editors Note:

11850 is Ireland’s original independent directory enquiry service. Celebrating its tenth anniversary of service, 11850 is committed
to providing callers the highest levels of service, accuracy and courtesy. 11850 joined the kgb family of businesses in 2006. kgb is the
world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services.

11850 is market leader in text directory enquiries in Ireland and is the second largest voice directory assistance operator. Recognised as
a leading innovator, 11850 was the first to introduce value added services such as free number textback, and remains the only DQ operator
offering free search via the web.